This invention relates to a clamp which is manually actuated and which has specific but not limited use with what are called tonneau covers for beds of trucks.
Heretofore, hand actuated clamps for tonneau covers such as shown in co-invented application Ser. No. 10/286,711 filed Nov. 4, 2002, and incorporated herein by reference, were actuated by vertical movement of the clamp handle which caused a caming action which resulted in the clamp lip grasping the downturned marginal lip of a pick-up truck bed to which the tonneau cover was applied. This type of clamp performed satisfactorily as long as there was sufficient spacing below the tonneau cover to allow the up-and-down or vertical movement of the handle of the clamp. If hardware or receptacles were positioned along the sidewall of the truck bed, on many occasions there would not be sufficient room for up-and-down actuation of the clamp handle.
As such, in this invention the clamp handle is horizontally shiftable to impart a camming action, which causes the lip of the clamp to grasp the downturned lip at the margin of the truck bed sidewall. This movement of the clamp handle in a generally horizontal plane allows the area beneath the tonneau cover and clamp to be used for various storage devices without interference from the clamp.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a clamp which secures two parts together upon a vehicle in which the actuating handle of the clamp moves or shifts in a generally horizontal plane.
Another object of this invention is to provide a clamp for a tonneau cover which is of economical construction and simple operation.
Other objects of this invention will become apparent upon a reading of the following description.